Palm Pre App Store Closing In On 700,000 Downloads

It ain't one billion downloads, but the Palm Pre App store is off to a solid start:

On Saturday, June 6th, the Palm Pre launched nationwide after roughly two years of development. Two years isn’t a whole lot of time when you think about the fact that they not only created a new device, but a new operating system and app store at the same time. The device has a sharp design (literally and figuratively), a stunning user interface, and a lot of potential to grow into a competitive platform in the smartphone market.

On May 29th, 2009, 9 days before the device officially launched nationwide, the Palm Pre App Catalog went live with 4 apps (Classic, Sudoku, Today Show, and WHERE). By launch day (6/6/09), this number grew to 18 apps total and then jumped to 30 at the end of the first week (6/12/09), and has remained unchanged since. Compared to the other app stores we’ve seen so far, this number is a mere fraction on what we’ve experienced at launch, but there are a few factors that paint a picture as to why this isn’t an issue.

Check out this nice graph, courtesy of Medialets:

Read more @ Medialets

Pandora Sells 1 Million Songs A Month; 20% Through Their iPhone App

The Pandora iPhone app is a must have for every iPhone user. It's one of our favorite websites to listen to and discover music at our desks. And when we're on the street their iPhone app supplies an unlimited playlist. So it makes us happy to hear this:

Pandora is a company that mainly makes its money through advertising deals on its streaming Internet radio service. But a growing portion of the business is also affiliate downloads of songs that users hear on Pandora and want to buy on either iTunes or Amazon’s MP3 service. And the biggest mover accelerating growth in that regard are downloads taking place on the iPhone.

Users are buying about a million songs a month now from these affiliate links on Pandora, CTO Tom Conrad tells me. Of those, a solid 20% are coming directly from Pandora’s iPhone app, which includes an easy link to open the iPhone’s iTunes app, and buy a track. That’s really impressive considering that it’s just one phone that a relatively small percentage of their users use.

Read the entire article @ TechCrunch, which includes some out of this world revenue projections.

Decatur, AL tests mobile parking meter payments

The city of Decatur, GA, is going mobile to make fumbling for change at the city's parking meters a thing of the past.

The city tapped StreetSmart Technology LLC and MobileNow for a pilot program letting consumers put time on parking meters by dialing in on their mobile phone. Decatur's single-slot parking patrons can call a central number posted on the meter and charge their parking time remotely.

“The primary strategy for implementing the smart meters is to increase turnover in the parking spaces in downtown," said Erik Puskar, director of MobileNow, Whitestone, NY. “The City is responding to complaints from both business owners and motorists that many cars overstay the 2 hour time limit and will occupy a space for extended periods.

Consumers arrive at the parking space, call into MobileNow's automated line displayed on the meter and follow the phone prompts to enter the space number also posted there.

StreetSmart's system then posts the time on their meter.

It's about time! Read more here.

Sprint Launches 2D Barcode Reader

This just in from Razorfish:

Sprint is setting the pace for U.S. wireless carriers by supporting 2D barcode scanning in ‘08. The company is pushing out the service under two different monikers: “Phone IQ” and “2-D Intelligence”. 2D barcode scanning, or QR codes, is already wildly popular in Asia and starting to takeoff in Europe. Sprint deserves a round of applause for this effort and we, for one, can’t wait to see how the U.S. market reacts.

Verizon Wireless responds after SMS fee uproar

In the wake of the October 9th disclosure that Verizon Wireless plans to levy a 3-cent transaction fee on text messages to opted-in consumers on its subscriber database, the news left SMS businesses scrambling for answers. On October 10th, the carrier released a clarification that - for the time being - has calmed the storm.

Read more here

Polo Ralph Lauren goes mobile

Moving beyond mobile marketing, Polo Ralph Lauren is stepping into mobile commerce:

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. has launched a mobile commerce service to let consumers buy products through their handsets.

How is Polo combining their mobile marketing efforts with their new mobile commerce program?

Consumers can sign up for Ralph Lauren mobile alerts by texting RALPH LAUREN to 23000 or by going to the mobile site and entering their mobile number.

The SMS alerts tell consumers about store openings, events and other initiatives that Ralph Lauren is launching.

By leveraging QR code technology, Ralph Lauren will offer consumers the opportunity to shop via their camera phones by scanning the QR code appearing in print advertisements, store windows and mailers.

The QR codes will link consumers directly to Ralph Lauren's limited edition 2008 U.S. Open Collection - as well as sell Ralph Lauren Classics including Polos, Oxfords and Chinos.

Read more at Mobile Marketer, or head over to Club Texting's retail messaging site.

SMS service lets users update Amazon, Netflix accounts

Great news for Netflix users and anyone who shops on Amazon.com:

Consumers can now update their Netflix queue and Amazon Wish Lists right from their mobile phone, without getting onto the Internet.

So how does it work?

Consumers sign up at http://www.kwiry.com, where they are asked to fill out their Netflix and Amazon account information.

Then, if a friend recommends a movie at lunch, users can simply text "NETFLIX” followed by the movie title to kwiry's short code, 59479.

Kwiry automatically adds the movie to the user’s Netflix queue and the movie arrives on their doorstep.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Mobile Gambling To Debut In Las Vegas

Because you can never gamble enough while you're in Vegas, a new casino is planning on deploying mobile gaming devices:

The M Resort, Spa and Casino will partner with Cantor Gaming to provide mobile gaming at the $1 billion Las Vegas property.

The casino is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2009 on South Las Vegas Boulevard, known as the “South Strip.” Pending approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Control Board, Cantor’s eDeck handheld devices will enable mobile gaming in designated areas throughout the resort, including the pool area, casino bars, clubs, restaurants and M’s race and sports book.
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Mobile gaming will permit the play of familiar casino-style games, such as slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker, within the casino property, yet away from the confines of the traditional casino floor.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer.

Can a Coupon Live Inside a Cellphone?

The New York Times recently ran an interesting article about mobile coupons:

Is a coupon still a coupon if you can’t clip ’n’ save it? Betting that the answer is yes, some advertisers are beginning to invest in mobile coupons — discounts that are delivered to customers’ cellphones (with their permission), often via text messages.

Read more at the New York Times.

McDonald's Begins Testing Mobile Coupons

BrandWeek is reporting on an exciting development in the mobile couponing space:

McDonald’s is dialing up mobile coupons for a regional test at 113 locations in Utah, Wyoming and Nevada. Consumers can receive one of the chain’s new iced coffees for free when they use a mobile coupon at participating stores between April 7-27.

So how does it work?

Customers are asked to go to cellfire.com or text “mcd” to 22888 to receive the application. Upon signing up, they receive a unique redemption code that consumers show the McDonald’s cashier. Once registered, they can receive future offers from other  merchants as well

Read more @ BrandWeek.